How Analytics Solutions Can Help Strengthen Your Business

Even though most enterprise organizations use data and analytics to drive strategy, only 39% of executives believe their organizations manage data as an asset, and even fewer (24%) view their companies as being data-driven.^1,2 For companies striving to capitalize on the promises of data and analytics, it can help to study successful leaders. Let’s look at how three companies benefit significantly from analytics.

Customer Personalization

What company has been a pioneer in customer personalization on its e-commerce platform? If you thought of Amazon, you’re right. Early on, Amazon leaders realized the potential within the vast amounts of data generated through customer interactions.

Fast forward to today. Amazon uses sophisticated algorithms to analyze its massive datasets. These include individual customer purchase histories, search queries, and browsing behaviors. This analysis drives highly tailored shopping experiences for each user. When a customer searches for a product, for example, Amazon not only displays relevant items but also suggests complementary products based on what similar customers have viewed or purchased. Customer personalization has been a key contributor to Amazon’s increasing online sales.

New Product Innovation

Starbucks is another company that has harnessed the value of data and analytics. The company processes roughly 100 million transactions per week at its 30,000 locations around the globe.⁴ A team of data scientists analyzes this information to help support various business initiatives, including new product development.

After learning that 43% of its tea-drinking customers preferred no extra sugar,⁴ Starbucks created its own line of unsweetened iced tea that it launched in grocery stores. Other data showed that 25% of its customers don’t add milk to their coffee.⁴ This insight motivated the company to create a new line of black iced coffee without milk.

Starbucks also collects data through its rewards program and mobile app. This data reveals what, where, and when rewards program members buy coffee. The company uses AI to process this data and personalize each customer’s experience. Starbucks even ties in weather data so that it can promote cold drinks on hot days.

Operational Efficiency

UPS (United Parcel Service) is a global package delivery and supply-chain management company that uses data extensively to increase its operational efficiency. For example, the company has invested in analytics software to optimize its delivery routes. This software, called On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation (ORION), uses algorithms to optimize delivery routes in real time. The software factors in package weight, delivery windows, and real-time traffic conditions. ORION improves its predictions over time through machine learning (ML). For instance, it learns from driver behavior, delivery outcomes, and external factors like terrain and elevation. This data-driven analytics technology has helped UPS to save millions of miles driven and reduce fuel consumption, while also improving delivery times and customer satisfaction.⁵